The Lost Coast

When we’re traveling, John and I don’t let any moss grow under our feet, so after a few days in Nola, we headed east to the Lost Coast of Florida, specifically to Apalachicola to see Thomas and Pamela. It’s hot and muggy and tropical here in this sleepy beach town that also happens to be a shrimper and oyster-lovers paradise.

We finally found a delicious biscuit. Now all we need some some good apricot jam to go with.

Beautiful sand dunes on St. George Island, one of the barrier islands just off the shore.

A friendly visitor from the Gulf of Mexico.

Obligatory beach selfie doesn’t show the damage done by the big ass biscuits.

Perfect way to spend vacation or retirement.

Thomas and Pamela seem happy as clams here in their new home. 

They’ve found the pearl in the oyster, for sure.

NOLA with old friends and new

 One of the main purposes of our trip south was to meet our old friends Jean, Clair and Hugues in New Orleans, where they were vacationing from France. We first met them and their son Bastien many years ago when we were all staying at the same B&B in South Dakota. I think Hugues was 13 at the time, and now he is 27. 

Our time together was a brief few days, but we made the best of it. Below we’re at Briquette with the owner and new friend AJ Tusa who graciously gave us a kitchen tour and allowed us to choose our own fish. The meal was outstanding, as was the service and hospitality. A definite highlight of our time in NOLA.

In the Briquette kitchen with redfish, red snapper, grouper and more fish that were swimming less than 24 hours before we gratefully devoured them.

We had intermittent thundershowers through the day, but that didn’t keep us inside for long. Here’s a street scene from Jackson Square, where we ate a lunch of gumbo, po’boy sandwiches and jambalaya. Folks gotta eat for fuel, and it gave us a chance to dry off.

We watched the steamboats along the Mississippi and toured the Louisiana State Museum in The Cabildo, a former government building and prison originally built in 1795.

This is a statue in honor of immigrants who built our country. I felt very moved there, reminded of my own ancestry and knowing that America still provides refuge for my friends, the Osmani family from Afghanistan. I wish more Americans would open their hearts to others from afar.

New Orleans’ is filled with gorgeous, wet and mossy Southern Live Oaks.

A bientot— until we meet again!

Natchez, Mississippi

A fascinating and wonderful overnight visit to Natchez to research Jewish/African American/white Southern relationships in this historic town on the Mississippi. Originally owned by the French, then the Spanish and finally America, Natchez’ location on the great river made it key to transport and trade in cotton and enslaved people, who were sold here and sent to plantations. Jewish merchants have been a part of the town’s history from nearly its start, originally immigrating here from Alsace-Lorraine in France and various parts of Germany. 

The main part of town sits on bluffs above the river. The Under-the-Hill area where Jewish families lived and sold dry goods etc. to locals and sailors barely exists anymore, having been taken by the river. We did walk down Silver Street to see what was left on the shore and found Magnolia Grill, where we twice ate really good redfish, shrimp, and grits and drank more than one or two local beers.

We spent the night at an antebellum mansion called the Burn Inn, once owned by a prominent Jewish family. The owner and his staff were very hospitable, sharing their knowledge about the home and the community history. Plus the breakfast (with more grits—yay!) were scrumptious. 

While we also did a lot of walking, sightseeing and visiting the local African American History Museum, the highlight of Natchez was meeting Teri Tillman, a local historian and thoughtful and wonderful tour guide for our visit to B’nai Israel Synagogue, built in 1834 to serve the many Jewish families here. Teri shared so much information about the local Jewish community and we loved talking with her and getting to know her a bit.

I’ll be sharing more of what we learned in Part III of the L’dor v’Dor trilogy.

Road-tripping in the South

 A little change of pace this summer takes us to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida for a visit with friends, some writing research, and some family time. Here’s a few pix from our first day, flying into Atlanta and then hitting the road.

 

Next stop: Natchez and more to come.